United We Stand
by Yin-Yang
Summary: The B'hood and the X-men find themselves forced to work together in order to save mutants from around the world from the clutches of FoH. Slash, het and vampish content.
1. Chapter One Mutant Meeting

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United We Stand

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YIN: We do not own any of these characters, we're not wholly sure who does, but it's not us.

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YANG: Unless my alter-ego is doing that thing again (looks worried) All unknown charas are made by various other authors who we luv and are our friends. We are using them with permission. Strong m/m content will be contained in later chapters, as well as violence and strong language. U no like, u adios, okay. Do NOT blame us if u can't stomach it, we warned u. 

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A man stood, enshrouded in a normal grey trench coat and loaded with flyers. As the wind began to pick up, he let go of them, sending them scattering through the air like released doves. Paper fluttered and spun, being carried away to who knows where by the air currents. The man smiled. Now lots of people would know about his cause… he had to go and prepare.

***

A skinny arm clad in leather snatched a flyer out of the air before it hit the ground. The owner of the arm leant back against the building behind him as he read it through once, then read it again. 

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EQUAL CHANCES!

EQUAL RIGHTS!

Are you tired of being abused and tormented by those around you too close-minded to understand who you are? What you are?

Show them that we aren't freaks. Join us in the re-education of the public and the education of ourselves to learn better how to control the gifts that we were given at birth.

Friday, 18th October,

9.45 pm,

The Glit

Chestnut Ave,

Diego Vatusia sighed as he sucked on a cigarette. Hmmm. He might try that. It was the only thing he had left after all.

***

A tall tanned woman, about 5'8" with blood red hair and gold eyes paused outside a wide three-story brick building. Inside it held a number of halls of various conventions, the one she was looking for was in the main hall and was anything but a regular convention. As she looked up she felt the feeling in the pit of her stomach return with a vengeance. She told herself to stop worrying, that everyone else here was just like them and they weren't going to be persecuted. She turned to the boy next to her. He was pale skinned, but his hair and eyes were black and he only reached 5'7". Her brother, Kevin. He smiled at her reassuringly. She knew it would be safe here, but she had never been pro admitting what they were. She had always been perfectly happy living the quiet life. No-one had to know that they could do things that normal people couldn't; it wasn't any of their business anyway.

Kevin seemed really excited about this. He bounced ahead, into the hall. She sighed and walked quickly to catch up with him. He was looking around the large hall filled with other mutants of a verity of different shapes, sizes and colours in amazement. 

Diego entered the building from the side, used to sneaking in, in order to avoid drawing attention. He realised that he needn't have bothered as soon as he entered. Mutants of all types, with wings to claws to luminous hair were here. He turned to see the mutants entering from behind him, then turned forward again, seeing the large amount of people in front. There were so many of them… loads and loads, enough so that the hall was dangerously close to filling. He started to feel panic, a tightening in his throat and an icy feeling in his stomach. His vision started greying and he couldn't breathe properly. He swayed and blacked out for a minute, until he fell forward into someone, the contact with another person grounding him and bringing him out of his panic slightly. He just hoped that they wouldn't be too angry with him for falling into them like that. He then didn't have to worry at all as he totally passed out.

The red head, commonly know as Meddie, stumbled forward as someone fell into her. As soon as she had recovered her balance, she reached out to catch the person slumped against her. It was a small figure, with long loose black hair that had fallen over the persons face so that it was impossible to tell how old or what gender the person was. Kevin and Meddie were left to assume that it was a young girl. They tried to roll her over, but they could not, and they did not want her to fall so in the end Kevin lifted her up, holding her under her knees and supporting her mid-back. Her head started to loll back so Kevin readjusted her slightly so that she rested against his chest. Meddie brushed the girl's hair out of her face so that it would be easier for her to breathe.

Then she got a good look at the supposed girl's face. While it did have a rather feminine look to it, there was also a distinct masculinity about the _girl_ too. She glanced at Kevin who seemed to be questioning the same thing. She just shrugged. It didn't really matter what the gender of the kid was anyway. The person stirred, and they both looked down again as its eyes started to open slowly.

As Diego came to, he was panicked to find himself being held by a strange boy. He froze sharply then began to struggle to get away.

He noticed a red haired girl standing over him and stilled again, knowing that he was caught and waiting to see what their reaction to his vivid red eyes would be.

Kevin was shocked when the kid started to struggle, and had a job trying not to drop him. He glanced at Medusa in desperation. The kid seemed to notice her at the same time and stilled, but still looked scared. Medusa smiled at him trying to appear as harmless as possible.

"Are you okay kid?" She asked.

Diego, frozen in fear, nodded stiffly. He swallowed nervously, waiting to see what would happen.

Medusa and Kevin exchanged worried looks; the kid seemed to be scared. They weren't totally sure why he was frightened of them, but Kevin wasn't going to hold the kid against his will and desperate to put the kid at ease he set him down on his feet.

"Are you sure?" Kevin asked disbelieving. "Are you here by yourself."

Diego looked at the pair warily, not sure what they wanted now. He couldn't bolt as there were too many people around and they seemed nice enough. They hadn't wigged out over his strange eyes anyway, and that could only be good. He decided to grace them with a verbal answer.

"Yeah, I am." He said quietly. "Got the flyer'n came round. How 'bout you?"

"It's just us. I'm Kevin by the way, and this is my sister Meddie. I found one of the flyers too, and just kinda dragged Meddie here." Kevin answered. "What's your name anyway?"

"Diego Vatusia."

Kevin was about to say something more when they heard the Speaker come to life letting everyone in the vicinity know that the speaker would be starting in the next few minutes. He turned to Diego and asked the kid if he wanted to come with them to hear the speech, it was only fair since the kid was here alone.

Diego thought about it for a second and, knowing that he had no one else to talk to and that it might be nice to have some company for a change, said yes.

***

"We have to realise that mutants aren't our enemies. Some of them have powers that can be trained to help us. By positive reinforcement, these people can be persuaded to come out and use their natural talents for the benefit of everyone. With institutes like the one run by Charles Xavier in Bayville, mutant children can be given guidance and help in their studies as well as training in their powers."

The doors were suddenly kicked in and men and women in grey and red uniforms stormed the place. 

"WE ARE THE FRIENDS OF HUMANITY!" A man with a loudspeaker stated. "EVERYBODY PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE GROUND AND STAY STILL."

The man at the front yelled into the microphone. "Run everybody! Escape! Those who can, help the children! Help the child…"

There were screams from the youngest as he was shot. He fell forward over the podium and his blood spilled over the edge. Diego stared at it, transfixed by the sight, running liquid and crimson across the floor. He felt a strange stirring inside him until a strange, feathered woman grabbed his arm. He was lifted up and out of a hole in the roof and placed in an alley a fair way away.

"Run kid. And stay away from those people, they're nothing but trouble."

He stood there in shock until she yelled at him to move before lifting into the air, probably to save some more children.

Diego forgot about his newfound friends, forgot about his current problems and ran for his life.

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YANG: Oh Yeah! That's it for that chapter. Oooo, blood! 0_o Anyway, the next chapter brings thrills and spills. Well, actually, it doesn't. It brings Kevin to Bayville though. STAY TUNED FOR MORE, TALES FROM THE KOOKY ONES!!!

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	2. Chapter Two Kevin's journey

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Chapter Two

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YANG: This chapter is totally Yin's work, u lucky u. Enjoy!

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YIN: (blush) This part is purely Kevin.

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Kevin backed into an alley. He could hear the shouts from behind him and the fear gripped at his heart, his throat started to constrict as he felt the panic take hold. He had to get out of here. He stumbled and looked up to see that he was in a dead end. He gaped at it; this was not good. He then noticed that someone else was there with him. She was tall with red-orange hair and was dressed in white. She had her back to Kevin, so when she whipped round and he saw her skin was blue, he fell over in shock.

She must have heard the people chasing him 'cause the first thing she said was, "You fool! You've lead them straight to me."

How Kevin was supposed to know she was here he didn't know, but he wasn't about to ask her that question. Besides, judging by what she did next it didn't matter if they found her as she could always escape. She transformed herself into a small black cat. There had never been a moment when Kevin had been gladder of his mutant ability. He just hoped that he would still be able to merge with her while she was in a cat form; he'd never tried merging with a shape-shifter before.

So, he reached out and touched her. Thankfully the merger worked and they became one. As soon as Kevin reached her mind he could hear her mentally screaming at him to get out. He almost laughed at her knowing that there was no way for her to force him out. Instead, Kevin tried to calm her down. He could tell by her accent when she spoke that she was not native to Britain, so chances were she had no idea of what route to take in order to escape the vigilantes.

No matter how much Kevin tried to reason with her, he couldn't get her to listen, so in the end he was forced to take control and gently slipped to the front of her mind, taking control of her motor skills but leaving the rest in her control. The vigilantes never noticed the small black cat weaving past them, out of the alley and down onto the main road. He hung around for a few hours waiting for the chaos to die down. As Kevin inside Mystique wandered the streets, they passed a television store. All the TV's were tuned to the same channel and a number of people were watching them. They showed the news. It spoke of the mutant meeting earlier today, only it spoke of it as if the mutants had been planning to destroy the human race, and spoke of the cowards who had bust in on the meeting brandishing guns as if they were heroes. Then it showed a picture of the mutant's who had been caught, and there she was. Medusa.

Kevin couldn't take this, not now, not with this strange person in his mind. He needed to get home and clear his mind, understand what was happening. Then he would hunt down those worthless humans and rip them to pieces. He knew that there was a bridge a few roads down that went over the Thames, and he was certain that it would be safe enough there for the two to separate.

The first thing Kevin did once separated from her was dodge the blow he knew was coming, followed by running for the main street. Luckily, his mutation had no effect on his physical appearance so the vigilantes couldn't pick him out by his looks… but a crazy blue lady attacking an innocent boy? They would pounce on her. Unfortunately, she grabbed him before he could reach the edge of the bridge and dragged him back into the darkness by the collar of his shirt.

"You have a lot of nerve boy." She growled.

Kevin's belly clenched in fear. He knew next to nothing about this lady, and what he did know wasn't exactly reassuring. He'd just wanted to get away in one piece, but now it would appear that he'd escaped the anti-mutants group for an even worse fate.

Mystique shook Kevin, and then turned the young mutant around so that he was facing her and looking her in the eye. As he stared back, she seemed to re-decide his fate of being skinned alive. 

"You know, you could be of use. Your sister was captured in that raid, wasn't she?"

Kevin nodded slightly, an action that seemed to satisfy her. Letting go of him, she bent down so that they were eye-to-eye. "How would you like a chance to get her back, or at least get revenge?" She asked.

She had a sly look to her, as if she was trying to manipulate him to do as she wanted. She needn't have bothered for two reasons; first, Kevin almost always acted like that himself, so those tactics never worked on him and secondly he had already decided on that front.

His expression grew hard and he responded with a curt nod. It was a stupid question. Medusa was his only family.

If they did anything to her Kevin would kill them.

***

It was almost a week later and Kevin was seated in a cramped seat in the economy section waiting for his plane to take off. He glanced around as more people filled up the chairs around him. The one next to him was still empty at the moment, but he knew that someone would sit there within the next few minutes. He turned and looked out the window, attempting to squash the growing panic within him. He swallowed as he noticed someone out of the corner of his eye stuffing their bag into the shelf above him. He turned to get a look at the other person; he looked about twenty and appeared to have dirty blond hair, which wasn't cut into any particular style, colourless eyes and greyish skin. His clothes seemed just as drab, and he was wearing a grey T-shirt and black jeans that looked so washed out that they must have been years old. Of course, Kevin's perception could be slightly off considering that he was wearing thick dark glasses.

However, the guy didn't look like much of a threat. Kevin was still sane enough to know that not everybody wanted to lock him up and experiment on him to see whether he'd bleed if he was cut, stupid humans. The guy sat down next to him and shot Kevin a grin. He stared blankly back, not in the mood to converse with a human. 

'I know I'm a human too, but I'm different, I'm more than they are. And that scares them, so they feel they have to suppress me, and others like me. Then there are those who feel that they must experiment on us, like we're less than what they are, like we have no feelings and they have the right to do that. I hate them.'

Kevin's head snapped round to look at the guy sitting next to him, who just asked him something. Kevin glared questioningly at him from behind his glasses. He didn't mean to glare at everyone but he couldn't help it. If it wasn't for them she would still be here, not locked up somewhere and maybe being experimented on. Fear gripped at his heart at that thought. He _had_ to find a way to rescue her. Kevin gripped the seat arms until his knuckles turned white. He didn't really care though; his thoughts were more on his sister.

'It's only been slightly over a week since that mutant thing. She didn't even want to go. It was me who found the flyer shoved in a trashcan and thought it would be cool to meet others like us. She had told me before that we shouldn't get involved with other mutants. That there were wars going on, not just between humans and mutants, but the mutants themselves and it was safer for both of us to stay quiet. But no, I had to go on and on about how cool it would be, and in the end she gave in. It wasn't fair. She didn't even want to go, and she was the one they caught.

When, during the meeting, a group of humans broke in, starting to attack us, killing some and capturing others. Somewhere along the line, in the panic, we lost each other. I didn't wait for her to make sure she was ok. I just bolted, ran into the crazy blue lady, Mystique, and used her as a way to escape, so it wasn't till later that I found out what happened to her. They reported the mutants that had been captured, they didn't say anything about any of them being killed though. That was kept under wraps. They showed pictures of the mutants that had been captured, and there she was. Her red hair was a mess, and she looked like they had beaten her, and what was she doing? She was looking after a little girl who must have been separated from her parents. The little girl was obviously a mutant, she had blue hair and her skin had a slight greenish tinge to it. She only looked about five years old and was clinging to Medusa desperately in fear. When they tried to get a shot of the 'freaky' little girl she pushed the camera out of the way and told the photographer to leave the girl alone. For that she received a harsh thump round the back of the head. She didn't deserve that. It should be me not her.'

"Dude?" The guy next to Kevin asked, sensing that he had lost his attention. Kevin looked at him again. 

"I asked if you were okay? You seem really tense man." He was American, with a fairly strong Californian beach bum accent. It's not quite the sort of voice he would have been expected to have. Kevin took his glasses off then pushed the curls that fell down to replace them out of his eyes. Without his glasses on, Kevin would be forgiven for thinking that the guy next to him was a completely different person from the one who was there only seconds before. His hair was more sandy than dirty blond and his skin more tanned. Even the clothes looked different, his jeans were in-fact white and his T-shirt, well it was grey but not the drab colourless grey that Kevin had originally thought.

"Yeah I'm cool" He replied. The guy seemed to know that he wasn't though. He was obviously the kind of guy who was infected with the happy bug, determined to make everyone within the surrounding area as happy as he was. Unfortunately it would appear that Kevin was his next victim. After a bit, he checked the handbook to see how long the journey was, and how much longer he had till he could escape him. 

'Oh hell' Kevin thought upon seeing the flight length. 8 HOURS! They were only an hour in and Kevin was ready to jump out the plane, or maybe throw the other man out, since he still had to find a way to save his sister. Then the guy did the worst thing he could. He decided that he'd had enough of telling Kevin 'jokes' and 'funny stories'. They were going to get to know each other. 'Oh the sheer joy.'

"So what is your name any way? Mines Brandon Marks."

"Kevin" he muttered.

"So, why you heading for the Big Apple?" Didn't this guy understand the concept of minding your own business?

"Oh, you know, why does anyone go to New York?" he replied. Like hell Kevin was going to tell him the truth. 

*New York was the quickest flight I could get to America. I'd got it last minute too. It was the only way I'd been able to afford to get there. Once in New York I intend to get a series of buses and trains to Bayville. I'm going there because I met some crazy blue lady who told me that there was group of mutants there called the Brotherhood who would be able to help me. Help me do what? Attack those nice little anti-mutant groups who keep the world safe from those horrible evil creatures. *

Crazy much?

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YIN: Did you like?

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YANG: Next chapter…where is Meddie? Where does Kevin go? Diego meets the X-people and also has a dream. (theme to the Twilight Zone) Until next time…

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YIN: On a side note, Brandon is just there for Kevin it mentally whinge about, he will have no further part in the fic.

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	3. Chapter Three Arrivals and Institutes

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Chapter Three

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YIN: This chap catches up with Meddie a bit, has Kevin arriving at the BH house and then I give Yang a turn to write…

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YANG: This chapter has buses, B'hood and bad dreams. Also squicky bloodness, so if you don't like mention of blood (although it's only small) be careful. 

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YIN: Also, the changes that have been made to the first chap are regarding Meddie's appearance, she is meant to have gold eyes and tan skin. That's all.

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Meddie sat in the corner of a large room in a cargo plane. It was one of the three that was being used to transport the mutants caught at the Meeting, as well as a few others, to America where there was a permanent holding. In her arms lay a small child, who had told Meddie that she was five years old and that her name was Minerva. You could tell she was a Mutant by looking at her, with blue hair and green skin it was hard to miss. However she had yet to develop any powers. She had been separated from her parents in the chaos of the attack, and when Medusa had seen her she had left Kevin to help her. Unfortunately they had both been caught, and her only consolation was that as far as she knew Kevin was still free.

***

Kevin sat on the bus, a fair sized backpack next to him and a large duffle bag at his feet. He knew it would only be a couple more minutes and he would reach his final stop. Then it was just a question of finding the house. The bus pulled in to a stop and the driver shouted at him that this was the one he wanted. Hoisting up his bags and struggled off the bus, he thanked the driver. Once off the bus he rearranged his bags into a more comfortable position and after checking the address he had been given, started staggering down the road in search of his new home.

He stopped outside one of the worst looking houses in the street. The whitewash was peeling on the outside walls, the left upstairs bedroom window was broken with a piece of cardboard over it and there was a hole in the roof which someone had secured a piece of green waterproof plastic from the inside to prevent it leaking. The garden wasn't much better; it was weedy with only an old rotting tree and a fridge decorating it. He paused for a second to take it in, he'd never seen a place like this before. It looked more like a dump than a house. Though Kevin wasn't particularly surprised, after all the only people that lived there were teenage boys.

Kevin started down toward the house, but the front door opened before he even got there and a tall, broad, brunette male with hair down to his shoulders blocked his way to the house. Kevin looked up to seem him glaring stonily down at him, silently inquiring what he was doing there.

"Umm… hi, I'm Kevin." He introduced himself, dropping his stuff and offering his hand.

"Hi" A voice came out of nowhere, but was quickly followed by a head. The head belonged to a boy about the same height as Kevin with smooth white hair gelled back with the exception of two spikes which stuck out to the side. He had blue eyes and wore jeans and a skin-tight top. "I'm Pietro." he introduced himself, taking Kevin's offered hand and shaking it. The brunette did not seem impressed by Pietro's behaviour. 

"So what brings you here?" Pietro asked in a slightly overly friendly manner. Kevin didn't have any problems with Pietro's manners; in fact it was the brunette's conduct that was unnerving him.

"Well…" Kevin licked his lips. That guy was really making him feel uncomfortable; he tried to focus on Pietro, who still hadn't let go of his hand. "You may have heard about the mutants who were brought here by the FOH about a week ago," this seemed to get their attention, "well my sister was among them. I met this crazy blue lady…"

"…Mystique…" Pietro and the tall guy offered.

"Yeah, and she sorta told about the place and…"

"So the boss-lady is still recruiting?" The tall brunette asked moving aside, seeming to accept that he had to let Kevin in.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood" Pietro said smiling, throwing his arm round Kevin's shoulder and leading him into the house, while the other bigger guy carried his stuff in.

***

Scott laughed as he watched Kurt and Evan tormenting Kitty with long peacock feathers. Evan would swoop in on his skateboard and tickle her nose with it, and when she turned Kurt would teleport behind her and move it across her ear. Kitty turned and turned, trying to make each one stay still so that she could take the feather away them but it wasn't working. It finally ended when Kitty went insubstantial and Evan fell through her into Kurt. Crowing, Kitty grabbed both feathers and put them under Evan's shirt, then turned to Kurt and tickled him unmercifully. 

Scott was interrupted by Xavier's voice in his head.

*_Scott, someone is at the door. They seem to be in need of some help. Can you go let them in please?_ *

Scott thought back *_Sure Professor. *_ Then walked to open the front door. Rapid knocking was coming from it, so Scott opened it as fast as he could. He stumbled in surprise when a short body fell into him. As he held his arms out to prevent them both from falling to the floor, the other person leapt back, falling onto their behind.

Scott studied the other visitor to see if he knew them. The long black hair wasn't familiar, and judging by the filthy clothes and the small rucksack, the person had been travelling for a while. A new mutant then?

Scott decided to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen.

"Hey. Sorry about that, shouldn't have opened the door so fast. Why are you here?"

The person lifted their head warily, keeping his head down while he looked sidelong at Scott. Scott noticed that the boy? girl's? eyes were an unusual colour, even through his red glasses, but he didn't say anything. He did live with a blue furred-demon after all. A pair of weird eyes didn't bother him that much. The voice, when it spoke, was melodic and accented with English, while also being detectably masculine. It had been difficult to tell what their somewhat tattered looking visitor was otherwise.

"Yeah, ummm, is this, uh, Xavier's Institute for mutants? Sumfing like that?"

"Yeah kid. You've decided to join us?"

The boy nodded and then pulled himself up from the ground. He stood there, eyes down, shifting his weight from leg to leg.

"Um, yeah, so you wanna come in? I can take you to meet the Professor."

The boy nodded again and Scott moved aside to let him in. As Scott led him through the corridors, he tried to talk to him some more.

"So, my name's Scott Summers, what's yours?"

"Diego Vatusia."

"Cool. So, you been in America long?"

"Nah, not really. Few weeks' per'aps. I heard 'bout this place at a meetin' in England and hitchhiked 'ere from the airport."

Scott looked mildly surprised but let it go, assuming he'd tell them more later on.

"Oh right. You're from England, then."

The kid nodded. "London."

The conversation stopped as they approached a large door. Scott pushed it open and motioned the kid to go through, which he did.

A warm and quite formal voice greeted Diego as he entered. He saw a bald man in a wheelchair sitting facing the door, hands steepled in front of him.

"Ah, Scott. You've brought our young guest up. What's your name child?"

"Diego Vatusia." He replied, slightly awed by the feeling of power that the man in front of him exuded. 

"Well Diego. I am Professor Charles Xavier and this is my home for young gifted people such as yourself. We're here to help you learn and train your powers. Do you know what your powers are?"

"How did you know I was… one of you?" Diego asked.

"We have a machine known as 'Cerebro'. It detects the presence of new mutants such as yourself so that we can find and help them, as we are doing with you. We detected you making your way here a few days ago."

Scott broke in, seeing that the boy looked slightly nervous about hearing that.

"The Professor is a telepath. He can talk to people using his mind and can also read thoughts and move objects."

Diego started and looked directly at Xavier for the first time, fear and awe starkly visible in his eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't look without your permission." The Professor reassured him.

The boy relaxed a bit.

"I have to wear these special glasses because my power causes me to shoot laser beams from my eyes. I can't control it yet, and these specs stop me from harming anyone."

Diego looked cautiously at the smiling team-leader.

"I don't rightly know what my powers are." He confessed. "I c'n change other people's body temperatures, make 'em hot or cold like, but apart from that…."

Xavier spoke up.

"That's okay, not many mutants are totally aware of their powers. The institute is here for you to learn more about yourself so that you aren't frightened and so that you don't accidentally hurt anyone if your power is like Scott's. We'll teach you how to use your gifts to their fullest. But as for now, I think we should put you in a room. You look tired and I'm sure we can talk later. We can put your room next to Scott's if you want."

Diego nodded and thanked them then was led to his new room.

He was overwhelmed by the luxury of his new surroundings, but had to heed the call of the shower first. He felt filthy. He had travelled for days after the events of the equal rights rally thing and had also had to walk and hitchhike to the institute. He felt dirty down to his bones and he spent a good half hour or more in the shower, scrubbing under the glorious hot water until his skin turned red.

Once out, he crashed into bed in a pair of large faded sweatpants that had been borrowed from somewhere else as the clothes that he had had in his bag were now torn beyond all wearing after an incident with a dog. He would have stopped to mull the events of the day over in his head, but was more exhausted than he had thought and he dropped off minutes after lying down.

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//He was in that place again, that strange, familiar white place with no windows and one door. He hugged his knees to him as he watched the shadow people move around him, poking and prodding to try and get a reaction. He shivered. There had been no noise except for the faint muttering of the shadow people, but now there was a creaking noise, a steady, slow and eerie, 'rreeeeeeeeeeeek, rreeeeeeeeeeeek, rreeeeeeeeeeeek'. He saw the shadow of the noose stretch across the ground, empty yet hanging and creaking all the time. When he looked up, the body that he knew would be there was, in all its macabre colour. He stared at it, stared at its (familiar?) black boots. He heard another voice echo across the mumbling of the shadow people and the creaking of the rope. A young male voice, but he couldn't make out the words. He jerked as if he had been pushed suddenly, and more words in an unknown voice yelled loudly into his ear. 'You stupid boy. How many times have I told you, you can't drink it through a straw? Blood clots.' He looked down at his hands and saw a cup with dark red liquid inside. He brought it to his mouth and drank out of it, then dropped it listlessly. The blood was thick. It crawled out of the glass, spreading in an enlargening puddle across the floor. It crept up a podium and ran into the neck of the man he had seen shot during the mutant meeting. He lifted his head with it's grey face and fishy unseeing eyes and said gently 'Equal blood for equal freaks. You are a freak. Just don't use a straw okay?' And then he turned into another glass of blood. //

And it was the blood comment that made Diego sit up in bed and gasp, clutching at the sheets as if he would slip back into that world of dreams without them.

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YIN: I have to say now, I am fully in love with Diego. Along with -is muffled by Yang so all you hear is 'mafma'- but that's for later.

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YANG: Awww, bless. Anyway, next chapter has Evan and Diego chatting, Wolverine makes an appearance, as does a brand spanking new baby. Mwahahahahaha! Character torture… but in a good way.

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	4. Chapter Four A Bar Incident

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Chapter Four

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YIN: And now you meet 'mafma', (sigh) he's soooo uber cute :D

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YANG: Wooo! New baby, new baby. I write this guy, and he is soooo much fun to write. 

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Warning- Language, but nothing you don't hear at school.

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Evan almost walked into the new boy on his way downstairs. Scott had told them that a new student had arrived late last night, but the only thing he had told them was that he was a boy, about fifteen and that he was from England.

It was hard to be sure that he _was_ a guy. His hair was cut long, spiked and shoulder length at the back. The black fringe was cut haphazardly so that it spiked at the bottom and was hanging in front of his eyes, looking chaotic and annoying. It was a coal shade of black, as was the rest of his hair. His frame was slight and he was petite, standing at around 5'3" with pale porcelain white skin. He wore tight black leather trousers that hugged his legs, a red T-shirt and a mid-thigh length black duster. Evan looked down and saw a large pair of mid-calf length black boots that he knew Rogue would probably drool over.

The new boy's eyes were the strangest feature about him though, apart from the effeminate face and delicate features. They were almond shaped and lined in black, but that wasn't the weird thing. The boy's eyes were a strange vivid jewel red colour, giving him a strange cutting look.

Diego seemed embarrassed at the scrutiny, so Evan glanced away and changed the subject.

"Hey, you're the new guy from England, right? My name's Evan, what's yours?" He said, holding his hand out.

The other boy took his hand reluctantly and gave it a quick shake, relaxing slightly when he did. Evan noticed that his nails were painted a dark, almost black, red.

"I'm Diego Vatusia and yeah, I'm from London."

"Well D, lemme be the first, or the second, or third I suppose, to welcome you to the Institute. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others."

As they made their way through the corridors, Evan talked about their powers.

"My codename is Spyke, I make spikes basically. Watch."

Evan concentrated and a spike came through his palm.

"I'm learning to control them. It's really hard to explain spikes shooting from your back when you sneeze. And I have to drink loads of milk to get enough calcium."

Diego's eyes practically sparked with interest.

"Ummm, I don't really know wot mine are." He said quietly.

Evan told Diego that that was the whole purpose of the Institute and talked on about it with Diego listening intently. 

As they walked down the stairs, Evan thought once again of those strange eyes and wondered about the way his stomach had shifted at the sight of them.

"Hey everyone! This is the new kid, Diego Vatusia. He arrived here yesterday." Evan opened the door for Diego and introduced him to the room of mutants.

"Like, hi, I'm Kitty. It's, like, so nice to meet you." A young brown-haired girl welcomed him first. 

"Hey Kitty." He replied, smiling shyly at her. Her mouth dropped open until a stream of words bubbled forth.

"Oh my God have you, like, seen your eyes, they're, like, the coolest shade of red, are you from, like, England? That's really cool too, I, like so wanted to go there, but I couldn't…"

Evan stopped her babble.

"Kitty's codename is Shadowcat, she can pass through solid objects. Only she tends to short out electronics if he goes through them."

Evan then pointed to another boy.

"This is Kurt, he's from Europe too."

A cheerful looking, blue haired boy of about Diego's age waved to him.

"Hi. If you couldn't guess from my accent I'm from Germany. It's sehr strange here, but I think you'll get to like it. Everyvun is really cool and za girls dig ze foreign accent."

Kurt too had noticed the strange eyes of the newcomer, but decided that he had nothing on what Kurt looked like beneath the hologram.

Diego looked at the other teen approvingly. He had always been attracted to guys and Kurt was pretty cute. Unfortunately, he didn't feel up to a relationship, not after… Diego pushed that thought away. He didn't think anyone here was up for a one-night stand anyway.

"You've met Scott, I think and this is Jean Grey." Evan was introducing him to more people.

He smiled at Scott, and then said 'hi' to the tall willowy redhead.

She smiled back at him brightly. "Hi Diego, welcome to the institute." She held out a hand and he took it.

"I'm a telepath, like the Professor."

He tensed slightly and Jean felt a wave of anxiety come from him. She was quick to reassure him that she, like the Professor, wouldn't abuse his privacy.

"That's almost all of us." Evan said, rescuing his new friend. "Except for Rogue who probably isn't up yet, and Logan…"

"Who is here." A gruff voice finished.

Diego turned to see a short, stocky but incredibly powerful looking man standing in the doorway. He had stiff-looking black hair, brawny arms were crossed across his chest, and he sniffed in Diego's direction, not condescendingly, but in the way an animal would scent the air. Diego knew he was being appraised, and this man's careful, if detached scrutiny made him nervous. He felt afraid, and his hands went into his pockets as he tried to make himself look as small and insignificant as possible. He moved slightly to stand marginally behind Evan. 

Wolverine raised an eyebrow, as he smelt the fear coming off the new boy. He didn't have his claws out and the smell was stronger than the usual nervous anxiety he generated in more nervous students.

"Hey kid. I'm Wolverine. How's it going?"

Diego nodded back slightly, eyes massive as he stared. Before anyone else noticed the new tension in the air, a new girl entered. She looked sleepy and was dressed in dark colours, green and black. Her make-up was heavy and her hair was streaked once, brazenly with a single white strand. Her image said 'Goth' and her annoyed 'I-got-up-way-too-early-this-morning' look increased her 'stay away' vibe. Diego relaxed unconsciously when he saw her. He had been worried that he would be the odd-one-out among the others, but he had now found someone who looked as if they might understand his fashion sense at least.

Rogue came in through the door feeling grumpy and irritable and wishing that she had had more sleep. But, her stomach had made her get out of bed and go eat, so here she was…

She looked, startled for a moment at a stranger standing in the room, slightly behind Evan. He was dressed in a way that she approved of and wore his hair long. He looked up at her and she saw startling garnet eyes that made the exotic face they were in look paler than it already was. She smiled slightly, her bad mood disappearing a little bit.

"Hi, ah'm Rogue, what's your name?" She asked amiably.

Diego noticed the Southern accent and realised that he immediately felt a kinship with this girl. He decided to trust his feelings.

"I'm Diego Vatusia." He said.

"Cool. You're from England. How long have you been here for?"

"Ummm, few weeks mebbe." He said.

Scott entered and they all sat down to breakfast before any more questions were asked. 

Diego ate quickly and fairly quietly, listening to everyone else chat around him. He was wedged between Evan and Jean. He would have sat next to Rogue, but she was near Wolverine, and being near that man made tremors of almost forgotten fear run through him. He immediately felt annoyed at himself. The past was the past he should be over it by now. He sighed. Just as long as this place could help him, he would be fine. It had been a long time since he had belonged anywhere.

***

Narrowed glances were shot at the boy who was sitting at the bar, obliviously drinking down his third vodka of the night, having first put away at least two pints of lager, which couldn't have been all that he had had to drink as he had come in slightly soused. It was amazing that he had got a drink at all, being as he looked so young, but then he knew how to get what he wanted. He had practiced after all. He was used to the staring anyway, never mind the fact that he had apparently walked into the most homophobic bar in town.

His hair immediately drew attention. It was short at the back and long at the front, styled into long bangs that spiked out in front of his eyes. The shorter hair at the back was spiked into small points at random intervals, each one being dyed neon green, as were the tips of his bangs, the rest of which were black.

He was dressed in skin-tight black leather trousers flared out at the bottom, large studded black boots and a tank top that was cut halfway down his torso, showing off his stomach and even some of his chest. It was also black, with the bottom and the armholes ragged as if they'd been hacked off with a bread knife. The words 'Razor Sharp Scars' were printed in angular red letters on the front of it. The short height of the top displayed the boy's belly bar. This was only the beginning of the boy's metal furnishings. He was wearing a studded collar and cuffs, and his right eyebrow was pierced with a silver hoop. His right ear was adorned with three hoops, one in the top, one in the bottom and one in the middle while his left ear had four hoops going down the outside. His chin was pierced with a black horn labret. 

When he spoke, you could see flashes of metal in his mouth indicating that he had his tongue pierced with a silver ball tongue stud. If he had deigned to take his short black (leather again) coat off, the shirt would have shown off the anarchy 'A' tattoo in black on the small of his back and the small black and purple winged butterfly tattooed on his left shoulder blade as well as the barbed wire/bramble tattoo in black around his right upper arm. If you saw him from the front, you would have also seen the crescent shaped scar that curved from the right side of his stomach to mid-way up the right side of his ribs, half-hidden under his shirt. 

The residents of the bar stood up as the stranger slapped some money down, winked at the bartender and walked out.

Maveryk Neemick stepped outside of the bar and leant up against the alley wall as he pulled a smoke out of his pocket and lit it. He looked up as the pastel grey smoke billowed out of his mouth. He had been in America for a few months now and still hadn't got over the pain of his rejection by Max, even though he had a pocket full of dosh and the talent to draw the attention of as many people as he wanted to spend the night with. 

He still hadn't settled. The feeling of waking up in the morning alone or with a strange body next to him did nothing to fill the hole inside him that had been made when Max had decided that now that the band had split and they were in a new country, it was time for them to do the same. He sighed. He hadn't been sober since.

Maveryk had no more time to think about his current state of affairs as a large hand wrapped itself around his neck and pushed his head back into the wall.

*_Oh shit! *_ He thought to himself.

"Well, 'ello there boys." He said cheerily. "Summink you wann'ed?"

'Meaty-hand' growled while a smaller man behind him- still way over Maveryk's own 5'4"- answered his question.

"We don't like your kind round here." It growled.

*_Can't anyone talk wivout growling at me? *_ He wondered.

"And what kind would that be then mate?" He asked, squirming ineffectively to try and get free.

"Well," 'Shorty' was laughing. "You strike out on three counts kid. You're English, you're a fag, and you're a mutie too."

"What gave it away? The accent?" Maveryk asked, kicking the larger man in the nuts, causing him to be dropped. Before he could run, another guy appeared from behind and wrapped him in large brawny arms.

"You should be wearing contacts kid." 'Shorty' said.

Maveryk's eyes were large, rounded and slightly pointed at the ends, giving him an exotic look, especially when paired with his faint Asian skin. They were also a warm clear amber colour, giving him the stare of a coolly disinterested cat.

As 'Meaty-hand' advanced, having slightly recovered enough to beat the stuffing out of the disrespectful little mutie, Maveryk decided that if he didn't get out of there quick he'd be in trouble. He concentrated for a second, and 'Arms' behind him dropped him sharply, stammering something about the boy using his mutie powers on him.

Maveryk had employed his little illusion trick that lasted for all of ten seconds, making the man believe that he was surrounded by mirrors. Basically, he couldn't see anything where he turned but himself.

'Meaty-hand' wasted no time and took a swing at him, landing his fist in his gut and sending the smaller boy crashing to the ground. As Maveryk saw 'Shorty' come forward, raising his foot to give him a kick in the gut, he had enough and stretched out his hands palm-first. Shards of glass flew from his hands, slicing the two men but not embedding into them. Maveryk wanted to scare them away or at least buy himself some time to run. Killing them wasn't an option at the moment.

"Ow, you little asshole." 'Shorty' yelped, kicking Maveryk anyway.

He was just about to let loose with some more accurately aimed glass shards when he was thrown to the ground and pinned there by a weight much larger than his own.

"It's alright now people. The threat has been neutralised. Move along now."

*_Threat? I'm just about to get the crap beat outta me by three other, BIGGER men and I'M the threat??? These people are nuts. *_

The body above him pulled him none too gently too his feet by his arms, roughly pulled behind him.

"Well, he's certainly a mutie. Look at those eyes. He's not natural."

A man with steel grey eyes, silver hair and a hard severe expression on his face gripped him by the chin hard enough to bruise and stared deep into his eyes.

Maveryk stilled and whimpered as he saw the look in this new mans eyes. He could read it clearly, anyone could have done. This man didn't hate him, didn't even consider him worthy of hating. He looked at him as if he were some kind of dangerous animal, needing to be locked away and studied for the benefit of the public. He felt a sharp bolt of fear cut through him, fear for himself, fear for everyone else on the receiving end of this man's cold stare and his harsh grip.

The man nodded and let Maveryk's face go slowly, ending by pulling his fingers in a bastardised caress down his face. This made Maveryk shiver, suddenly feeling the need to have a hot shower. He then felt a strange presence inside his head. He almost threw up. He felt like he was being mind-raped.

*_DIRTY, DISGUSTING LOWER-CLASS LIFE FORM. JUST A CHILD, A PATHETIC POWERLESS CHILD. NOT WORTH MY TIME, NEVER MIND ANYONE ELSE'S *_

The presence left and Maveryk slumped in the other man's grip.

"Get him into the van. Take him to the holding centre. He'll be dealt with there."

The strange, grey, terrifying man (mutant?) must have left, because he was released, only to be kicked, punched and basically beat up until he was finally kicked into unconsciousness. 

_____________________________________________________________________

****

YIN: So 'mafma' is revealed as Maveryk. What happens next?

****

YANG: I am so mean to Maveryk… it does NOT get better. I'm sorry, I'm sadistic. Anyway… till next week…

_____________________________________________________________________


	5. Chapter Five Maveryk meets Meddie

Chapter Five 

**Yang:** Here's chapter five if anyone's interested. Not too many reviews and already on our fifth chapter… this is disheartening.

Meddie sat in a small cold room that was the size of a prison cell; it had a bunk bed pressed up against one wall with an area of floor space that was the width of the door and the length of the bed. She sat on the bed leaning against the headboard with Minerva curled up against her side having cried herself to sleep.

It was getting late and Meddie was just nodding off when the cell door slide open and someone was literally thrown into the cell. The person was unconscious and landed sprawled out on the cell floor. The door then slid closed and she started for a second before gently removing the child from her grip and over to the kid on the floor.

She rolled the person over onto his back and checked his breathing and pulse, then took a good look at the kid. It had been easy enough to assume they were male by their short hair, but she had originally thought that he was younger judging by his height from the back. She realised, when she turned him over, that he was older than he had first appeared. Judging by his face he looked like he was about the same age as her brother. She bit her lip at the thought of her brother and pushed it to the back of her mind, hoping that he was ok.

She glanced over at the bed, then going over she picked up Minerva and placed her on the top bunk for now. Then turning around she attempted to pick the boy up and was surprised at how light he was. She could pick him up with little effort. She turned, placed him gently on the lower bunk and tucked him in, then climbed up onto the top. She placed Minerva between herself and the wall so the girl wouldn't fall out, the child curled up against her in her sleep.

Maveryk groaned as he came to slowly, rubbing his head where it ached and wishing that he could do the same for his poor abused stomach. He still felt slimy from when that guy had put his hands on him and had assaulted his mind, but he figured that he wouldn't be able to wash that feeling off himself any time soon, and it wasn't as if he hadn't felt like this before.

He managed to stop himself tripping down the road of self-depreciation and otherwise occupied himself with exploring his new surroundings. He got out of the bunk and looked around, seeing the other occupants on the bunk above him. He was careful to be silent so that he didn't wake the others up. He walked around the small area of floor, inspected the door for any obvious signs of escape and also studied the roof. Nothing. There was a small panel next to the door on this side, which, he supposed, was some kind of sensor pad that would allow the FOH soldiers in and out of their cells. He punched at the door for a while paced a bit more and then slid down the wall to sit at the bottom. He gnawed on his thumb, sucked on his tongue piercing for a few minutes and then began to hum to himself. Gradually, the humming tapered off and Maveryk began beating the back of his head into the wall.

            *_I am DYING of BOREDOM! *_

He hoped and prayed that something happened before he got bored enough to start playing round with his mutant powers.

Meddie awoke to the sound of a repetitive dull thud. She carefully slipped away from Minerva and rolled over to jump down from the bunk. As she did she saw the kid who had been thrown into their cell last night pounding his head against the wall opposite the bunk. She sat up and gently slid to the floor, he glanced up at her, said 'hi' and then carried on banging his head and humming. Meddie had never met anyone like this. She dropped to her knees in front of him so that they were eye-to-eye.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. She was more than slightly confused by this boy.

He stopped again and looked right back at her. "Yeah, m'fine. M'just DYING of boredom here an' then I was waiting fer you to wake up but then I gotta rhythm goin' so…"

She could think of no reasonable response to that so she settled for introducing herself. 

"I'm Medusa, but most people call me Meddie. How come you're here anyway? Are you a mutant?"

He grinned at her and replied cheekily.

"I'm Maveryk Neemick and no, I'm not a mutant, I just like being accosted, beaten up and dumped in small, BORING little rooms wiv nuffing to do. I'm a glutton fer punishment. And just on the side, I can also do stuff to mirrors, but I wouldn't say that I'm a mutant. I mean, come on, you see eye's like mine everyday right?"

Meddie looked at him for a second, a smile pulling at her mouth. "Well I don't know. They've got a couple of non-mutants in here too. Mutant Sympathisers, you know?" She could tell by his face that he wasn't trying to be rude or offensive, so she wasn't going to take it that way. "Also, I'm not going to really make a big deal out of…" she glanced at his eye's for a second to check their colour "… amber eyes when I have bright blood red hair am I?"

Maveryk looked slightly disappointed.

"Aw, is that natural then? That sucks. I was gonna ask you where you got that dye from, I was getting' a bit bored wiv the green." He said, running a hand through his hair as he did so.

"Even if it wasn't natural it wouldn't have helped you anyway. I was shipped over from the UK a few weeks ago." Meddie told him. "So you would have to go to England to get it. Anyway I think the green suits you, keep it." She moved slightly so that she was no longer kneeling but had her legs curled up under her. "So how did you end up here anyway?"

"I was bein' beat up by some idiot mutie haters outside this bar and then these other guys from 'ere came along. Their leader guy is really bad news you know? Have ya met him? Ya'd know if ya had, he's…" Maveryk shuddered. "Anyways, they caught me and roughed me up a bit an' 'ere I am."

Meddie was surprised at how effected Maveryk seemed to be by this man. 'He must be a real piece of work' she figured. The boy seemed quite shook up about it. Without thought she reacted to him the way she would have if it had been her brother. She moved round so that she was next to him and wrapped her arms round his shoulder. 

Maveryk flinched away from the red head, unsure of what she was trying to do. When he realised that she was just trying to give him a cuddle, he stiffly accepted it, slowly relaxing and snuggling down as she wrapped her arms around him. He hadn't felt safe forever and decided to enjoy the rare feeling for as long as possible.

Meddie smiled at the kid as he settled down in her arms. He seemed a cute kid. Meddie heard a murmur and looked up. Minerva had woken up and was peering over the edge of the bed. She slowly climbed down falling slightly and landing harshly on the cold hard floor. Not bothering to get up, she crawled over to Meddie and cuddled up to her other side. Meddie glanced down at the smaller mutant, who was still somewhat sleepy, as she inspected Maveryk. Meddie looked back at the boy, only to find that he had fallen asleep.

**Yang: **Short chapter, I know. And isn't Maveryk neurotic : ) And Meddie is just one big mother hen, she's so sweet. Anyway, enough yak for now. Next chapter up immediately, just coz I love you. And I want to post them now, coz I want reviews. Does this make me a bad person?


	6. Chapter Six Kevin, Kitty and Nightmares

Chapter Six 

**Yang**: Told you the next chapter would be up immediately. Anyway, look forward to Kevin and Kitty interaction, a nightmare and Evan freaking out… although he does have due cause.

Kevin stepped out of the principles office and stared at the timetable in front of him in confusion. He looked up and down the empty halls in despair. How was he supposed to get to class when he had no clue as to where the class was held? His first class was English in room 24. He had tried to ask the principle's secretary where the room was but she had been little to no help. How was he supposed to find the room when she hadn't even told him where the English block was?

Suddenly he heard a noise coming from further down the corridor; he looked up to see a pretty brunette, with her hair in a ponytail and short bangs at the front, walking down the corridor towards him. He wasn't totally sure where she had come from, not that it really mattered. She glanced in his direction and caught him looking at her; he quickly turned his gaze back towards his timetable. As he tried once again to figure out where the class was by staring at the timetable he felt someone tap his shoulder, he looked up to it was the pretty brunette.

"Are you, like, lost or something?" She asked him, smiling helpfully at him.

"Ummm… kinda yeah." Kevin replied sheepishly. "I just join this morning and I don't know where my first class is."

"Oh cool!" She cried in a surprised tone. "Your from, like, England too…"

"…too?" Kevin interrupted her confused.

"Yeah, there's, like, a new kid at the institute. He's from England as well; he's from, like, London and has, the coolest accent. I'm, like, Kitty by the way." She told him. Kevin smiled slightly at he. He had never heard anyone who used 'like' that often out of context. He thought it was cute.

"Yeah, I'm Kevin, does the guy go to school here too?" Kevin asked, curious about this English guy and what Kitty defined as 'the coolest accent'.

"Nah," She said shaking her head. "He hasn't, like, been to school for a few years so he's, like, staying at home and is going to, like, be tutored for a bit."

They talked for a while longer and Kevin had become so absorbed in his conversation with Kitty that he had completely forgotten about getting to class, until he heard another voice slightly behind him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The voice asked. Kevin turned around to see his white haired housemate. "Is the Pretty-Kitty trying her charms on my friend here?" He asked throwing an arm around Kevin's shoulders. Before Kevin could respond Kitty had started for him.

"Like, very funny Pietro!" She snapped. "Just because you don't have any, like, charm and, like, can't get anyone doesn't, like, mean that others are the same way." Pietro just smirked at this. "And don't, like, flatter yourself, Kevin is not your friend and I, like, seriously doubt that he would ever associate with someone like you." With this, she linked her arm though Kevin's and walked off, with Kevin slightly trailing behind. He shot an apologetic look back at Pietro, who just smiled and waved his hand letting him know that he didn't mind.

Kevin was surprise by how extremely Kitty had reacted to Pietro's comments; he tried to ask her why she had reacted so extremely, but the only response he got was her repeatedly telling him that Pietro was a jerk and it was that simple. When he tried to tell her that Pietro was his friend and he was probably trying to tease him not Kitty he was met by a blank stare.

Kitty blushed, she hadn't realised that Kevin was actually friends with Pietro. She wondered if he was also friends with the rest of the Brotherhood. She hoped not. Kevin and Pietro were in the same grade so it was possible that they were just friends without the rest of the brotherhood being involved. 

***

Diego was worn out. He had spent the day talking to Professor Xavier about his education, or rather, his lack of it. He sighed heavily as he flopped down on the sofa and curled up in the corner of it, head rested against the back, elbow on one arm and his legs curled up under him. He was alone in the mansion (who would've thought? A mansion) except for Ororo and Xavier. He didn't care where Wolverine was and neither did he want to know. That man just scared him. He ignored his paranoid subconscious and thought about the meeting with Xavier instead.

_"So, Diego. How did you do at school? You're how old now?"_

_Diego had squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, tense in this funny office-like room under the friendly scrutiny of the imposing man in front of him._

_" 'm 15, sir." He mumbled back._

_Xavier smiled. "It's ok Diego, you don't have to call me sir. Now. Did you have much schooling back in England?"_

_Diego gave him a sidelong glance from under his long fringe. "Wouldn't you already know that? Seein' as you're a telepath an' all?"_

_Xavier shook his head. "I told you before that I wouldn't look without your permission child, and that still stands. I won't violate the privacy of you're head unless I think there's a problem or certain circumstances arise. It's all right for you to tell me how much education you've had so far. I understand that some of the classes in England are different to those in America and I wanted to make sure that you got entered in the right class."_

_Diego swallowed uncomfortably, unsure how to say this without revealing the shame of his past. He was sure that once Xavier heard about it, that he would be kicked out of the mansion faster than he could say 'Ouch'. And, strangely, he was starting to feel welcome here._

_"I, ummm. I didn't do too well at school. I went through the normal system 'til I was, well, 'bout 13. Like I said, I really wasn't doin' good. I went but… I din't actually learn nuffin'. Family problems, ya know." Diego closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steadying himself from the memories and the backwash of emotional baggage that came with them. He opened his eyes and carried on. "Plus the whole 'eyes' thing made me a bit of a outcast. I got… picked on quite a bit. My… **family… decided that I… would do better off inna, uh, kinda like instituty place. But, they din't really, um, teach me nuffin' so, I s'pose, I don't really sorta. Have that much education." He finished.**_

Xavier had picked up on some of the real reasons behind Diego's story and felt sympathy for the boy, as well as slight pride in him, as he had managed to get this far and remain practically undisturbed. But then Xavier hadn't really known him before, so he couldn't really say.__

He had smiled reassuringly at Diego and told him that they'd tutor him here for a few days, or weeks depending, and then assign him to a class at the school where the others currently were. Diego winced at the idea of returning to school. He'd had enough trouble before the- previous Institute – at school, trouble that had made him excessively paranoid about the colour of his eyes and the attention that they attracted. He had been called all sorts of things, from 'freak' to 'demon' to 'weirdo' and lately 'mutie'. That on top of his dad retreating into himself and everything else… He wondered why he had ever gone in the first place, it had definitely not done him any good.

With his head full of memories and anxiety about the coming days, Diego fell into an uneasy sleep, right where he sat on the couch.

//He lay in a dark bed, unable to see anything around him. He felt a body behind him, moving it's arm from his waist, where it rested, to his hair, brushing it aside and trailing randomly up and down his neck before curling around his chest to hold him firmly there. He sighed happily and snuggled back, shutting his eyes and tilting his head in the hope of a kiss as he felt something wet on his cheek. Nothing happened, except for another wet drop to land on his mouth. He licked his lips, still with his eyes closed, and tasted something vaguely salty, coppery and tangy at the same time. He frowned and opened his eyes to see a face that had once been beautiful and familiar now smashed into oblivion. The only way he could tell who it had been was through the red, red hair and the azure eyes that now hung haphazardly out of their sockets.

 He gasped and froze in horror for all of five seconds until the thing leaned forward to try and kiss him. He opened his mouth and screamed. The apparition moved up and took him by the shoulders shaking him wildly. Diego thrashed, trying to get away, until he lunged like a cornered animal and bit deep into the things arm.

It squalled like some kind of cat and flung its arm about, trying to make him let go, but Diego wouldn't. He hung on firmly and drank the blood that came out of the thing's arm. Drank it and it tasted soooo good, the hungry feeling that he had always felt rising up in recognition. It was hot and liquid and rich and… and… he couldn't breathe! //

Diego came awake with a start, lashing out and kicking at whatever it was that had a grip on his nose, preventing him from breathing. As an arm came out in retaliation, hitting him in the cheek which stunned him into stillness, he realised that he could still taste the copper of blood in his mouth, and that Evan, who had been the one to clock him in the face, was holding a hand to a bite mark on his arm, a bite mark that dripped with the crimson liquid.

Diego looked up into scared and disgusted eyes, before he realised just what it was that he had done. After that, he had nothing to do but turn around and throw up.

***

Evan had finished classes early and had come straight home, hoping to chat to the new kid some more. The boy seemed a bit shy and timid, but Evan was certain that they could become friends once he had come out of his shell a bit. Evan pointedly ignored the small voice in his head that was saying *_You don't normally show this much interest in a new student. There's something going on here. He's very pretty isn't he? * Evan absent-mindedly agreed with the voice before realising fully what it was saying._

"He is not." He said out loud, earning him some strange looks from passers-by.

*_I am NOT attracted to that guy. * He told his subconscious firmly. He then ignored it, as it was being juvenile and was going *__Yeaaaah right, whatever, you just keep telling yourself that. *_

He threw his bag down near the coat rack and wandered into the living room to see if he could catch the end of the game. He stopped when he saw Diego slumped asleep in the corner of the couch, one hand in his lap, the other near his face curled into a loose fist.

*_Awwwwwwwwwww. * _

Okay, he was now officially ignoring his subconscious.

He sat at one end of the sofa and scouted around for the TV guide. Before he found it, Diego kicked out slightly and made a distressed sounding moan in the back of his throat as he turned his head away from the back of the sofa to face Evan almost directly. Evan stilled, worried that he had disturbed the sleeping boy, but then leant forward as Diego started to flail out with his hands, apparently pushing something away. When the boy started screaming alarmingly, Evan shot forward and grabbed his shoulders, trying to shake him awake. Diego responded by biting him in the arm and holding on.

Now it was Evan's turn to yell, as the wound was deep enough that it bled. He watched, frozen in horror as the living lamprey began sucking at the bite. 

*_Oh My GOD!!! * The annoying voice was shrieking. *__He's drinking my BLOOD! He's some kind of vampire. Quick! Geddit off! *_

Evan realised that shaking his arm only tore it up more, and opted to shut off Diego's air supply instead, pinching his nose closed.

Sure enough, Diego sprang awake, kicking at him crazily. Evan had had enough and slapped the kid to make him wake up properly. There was a nasty silence as the boy stared at Evan horrified, even more than Evan himself was, blood still painted round his mouth. As Evan heard his Aunt come up behind him, the Brit turned around and threw up.

**Yang: ** (singing) Evan's in de-ni-al, Evan's in de-ni-al. Mmm, that was tasty, wasn't it (!) So Kevin is crushing on Kitty and Diego is having nasty nightmares. What's next? Want a sneak preview? Okay. Kurt angst's, Diego worries, it looks like Evan's developing split-personality disorder and Kevin and Diego meet at the mall. Oooo…I bet you're just _dying _for the next chapter. Review and we'll have it out.


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